Samyuktha (actress)

Samyuktha Menon, (born on 11 September 1995) is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Malayalam film Popcorn (2016).^[1][2]

Samyuktha
Samyuktha in 2018
Born	Samyuktha Menon (1995-09-11) 11 September 1995 (age 29) Palakkad, Kerala, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2016–present

Early life

Samyukhta Menon was born on 11 September 1995,^[3][4] at Palakkad, Kerala.^[5] She did her schooling from Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Thathamangalam and she is a graduate in economics.^[6]

Career

Debut and early work (2016-2021)

Samyuktha made her acting debut in 2016 with the Malayalam film Popcorn, where she played the lead opposite Shine Tom Chacko.^[7] In 2018, she had two Malayalam film releases: Theevandi opposite Tovino Thomas^[8][9] and Lilli, where she played the titular role of a pregnant woman.^[10] Cris of The News Minute stated, "Samyuktha Menon is convincing as a pregnant woman, but her lines are flawed."^[11] That year, Samyuktha also made her Tamil film debut with Kalari opposite Krishna.^[12]

The year 2019 was a turning point in her career with six film releases. She first appeared in July Kaatril opposite Ananth Nag.^[13] She went onto appear in Oru Yamandan Premakadha opposite Dulquer Salmaan,^[14] in Uyare,^[15] and in Under World opposite Asif Ali.^[16] Samyuktha reunited with Tovino Thomas for her last two releases of the year, Kalki, where she played a doctor and Edakkad Battalion 06, where she played a teacher.^[17][18] For Kalki, Sify found her to be "decent" in her limited role.^[19] In 2021, Samyuktha worked in four films, Vellam opposite Jayasurya,^[20] the anthology Aanum Pennum,^[21] Wolf opposite Arjun Ashokan.^[22] and Erida, where she played the titular role.^[23]

Expansion and commercial success (2022-present)

Samyuktha had four commercial successes in 2022. Her first release was, Bheemla Nayak, one of the highest grossing Telugu film of the year, opposite Rana Daggubati.^[24][25] She then appeared in one of the highest grossing Malayalam film of the year, Kaduva opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran.^[26] In Bimbisara, she played a police officer opposite Nandamuri Kalyan Ram.^[27] Later, she made her Kannada film debut with Gaalipata 2 opposite Diganth.^[28] A Sharadhaa of The New Indian Express stated that she justifies her character with her act.^[29]

In 2023, she first played a teacher opposite Dhanush in Vaathi, highest-grossing Tamil film of the year.^[30][31] She went onto appeared in Boomerang opposite Shine Tom Chacko,^[32] and in Devil: The British Secret Agent opposite Nandamuri Kalyan Ram.^[33] Neeshitha Nyayapati of Hindustan Times stated, "Samyuktha delivers a good performances for the most part. "^[34] Later, she appeared opposite Sai Durgha Tej in Virupaksha, one of the highest grossing Telugu film of the year.^[35] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu noted, "Samyuktha has a good screen presence and makes it count in the later portions that demand something more from her."^[36]

Media image

Samyuktha at an event

In the Kochi Times Most Desirable Women list, Samyuktha was placed 7th both in 2018 and 2019, and 2nd in 2020.^[37][38][39]

Personal life

In 2023, Samyuktha dropped her surname Menon from her name and said, "When I want to see equality, humanity and love all around, keeping a surname makes it very contradictory to what I want."^[40][41]

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes	Ref.
2016	Popcorn	Anjana	Malayalam		[42]
2018	Theevandi	Devi			[43]
	Lilli	Lilli			[44]
	Kalari	Thenmozhi	Tamil		[45]
2019	July Kaatril	Revathi			[46]
	Oru Yamandan Premakadha	Jesna Koshy	Malayalam		[47]
	Uyare	Tessa		Cameo appearance	[48]
	Kalki	Dr. Sangeetha			[49]
	Edakkad Battalion 06	Naina Fathima			[50][51]
	Under World	Aishwarya			[52]
2021	Vellam	Sunitha Murali			[53]
	Aanum Pennum	Kochuparu / Savithri		Segment: "Savithri"	[54]
	Wolf	Asha			[55]
	Erida	Erida	Malayalam	Bilingual film	[56]
			Tamil
2022	Bheemla Nayak	Kamali	Telugu		[57][58]
	Kaduva	Elsa Kurian	Malayalam		[59]
	Bimbisara	S.I Vyjayanthi	Telugu		[60]
	Gaalipata 2	Anupama	Kannada		[61][62]
2023	Vaathi	Meenakshi	Tamil	Bilingual film	[63][64]
	Sir		Telugu
	Boomerang	Honey Paul / Anjali	Malayalam		[65]
	Virupaksha	Nandini Chalapathy	Telugu		[66]
	Devil: The British Secret Agent	Nyshada			[67]
2024	Love Me	Divyavathi		Cameo appearance
2025	Maharagni- Queen of Queens †	Mohini	Hindi	Filming	[68]
	Swayambhu †	TBA	Telugu	Post-production	[69]
TBA	Ram †	TBA	Malayalam	Post-production	[70]
	Naari Naari Naduma Murari †	Dia	Telugu	Filming	[71]
	BSS12 †	Sameera		Filming	[72]
	Akhanda 2 †	TBA		Filming	[73]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2021	Kerala Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Aanum Pennum, Vellam & Wolf	Won	[74]
2023	South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actress – Telugu	Bheemla Nayak	Nominated	[75]
2024		Best Actress – Telugu	Virupaksha	Nominated	[76]
	Santosham Film Awards	Best Actress		Won	[77]

References

1. "Vaathi Movie Actress Samyuktha Biography: Age, Career, Net Worth, Unknown Facts, Movies". The Hans India. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
2. "'Virupaksha' Actress Samyuktha : The New Lucky Mascot Of Telugu Cinema". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
3. "Samyuktha Menon turned a tad but wiser, stronger and dreamier this year". The Times of India. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
4. Francis, Tom (11 September 2020). "Birthday Special: You can copy these unique patterns from Kalki star Samyukta Menon to look gorgeous!". Zee 5. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
5. "Actress Samyuktha Menon visits weavers village in Palakkad; extends support". Mathrubhumi. 12 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
6. "Welcome to official website of Central Chinmaya Mission Trust". Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
7. "I pick characters that satisfy me as an actor, says Samyuktha Menon". The Hindu. 10 October 2019.
8. "Theevandi: Slapping Tovino wasn't a funny and easy task for me: Samyuktha Menon". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
9. "Tovino Thomas' Theevandi team meet at Kochi". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
10. Manu, Meera (2 April 2018). "As Lilly blooms". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
11. "'Lilli' review: A violent, visceral thriller, where the script is just an afterthought". Retrieved 1 August 2021.
12. "Paadam Namukku Paadam: Actress Samyuktha Menon enjoys a fan girl moment with iconic singer K S Chithra". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
13. "Samyuktha Menon makes a bold debut in Tamil cinema with 'July Kaatril'". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
14. George, Anjana (16 July 2018). "Dulquer begins shooting for Oru Yamandan Prema Kadha". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
15. George, Anjana (8 February 2019). "Samyuktha Menon, Anarkali Marikar join Parvathy's Uyare". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
16. "Asif Ali-Arun Kumar Aravind's 'Underworld' arriving in August". The New Indian Express. 24 June 2019.
17. George, Anjana (29 July 2019). "Samyuktha Menon's 'Kalki' character revealed". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
18. "Mammootty launches first look poster Tovino's Edakkad Battalion 06". News Minute Times. 7 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
19. "Kalki Review : A hardcore masala entertainer that celebrates its hero". Sify. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019.
20. "ലോക്ഡൗണിനു ശേഷം റിലീസ് ചെയ്യുന്ന ആദ്യ മലയാള ചിത്രമാകാൻ വെള്ളം: ‌പ്രേക്ഷകരെ ക്ഷണിച്ച് ജയസൂര്യ". Manorama. 13 January 2021.
21. "Aanum Pennum, On Amazon Prime Video, Feels Like A Collection Of Snapshots That Aren't About Anything Specific". FilmCompanion. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
22. "Wolf Movie Review: Engaging psychological drama derailed by a shaky third act". Cinema Express. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
23. "Erida Review: A thriller that doesn't click". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021.
24. "Pawan Kalyan-Rana Daggubati film gets Sankranti release: 'Biggest battle of self-esteem'". The Indian Express. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
25. "Bheemla Nayak Day 11 Collections: Pawan Kalyan Movie Steady at Box Office". Sakshi Post. 8 March 2022.
26. "Kaduva Movie Review: Prithviraj's film is a battle between men with fragile egos". 7 July 2022.
27. "Bimbisara first look: Nandamuri Kalyanram transforms into the barbarian king, seated on a throne of corpses". The Indian Express. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
28. "Gaalipata 2 shooting pushed ahead by 2 months". The New Indian Express. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
29. "Gaalipata 2 review: Friendship back with a bang". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
30. "Samyuktha Menon roped in as the leading lady in Dhanush's 'Vaathi'". The Times of India. 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
31. "Dhanush's 'Vaathi' makes Rs 118 crore at the box office in one month". The Times of India. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
32. "Boomerang: Shine Tom Chacko-Samyuktha Menon headline thriller". Cinema Express. 6 April 2022. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
33. "Devil Explores A Novel Idea". 23 December 2023. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
34. "Devil review: Kalyanram, Samyuktha's period actioner tries way too hard to be interesting". 29 December 2023. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
35. "'Virupaksha' box office collection Day 17: Sai Dharam Tej's film rakes in Rs 91crore". The Times of India. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
36. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (21 April 2023). "'Virupaksha' movie review: Sai Dharam Tej and Samyuktha Menon's film invokes fear without the gimmicks". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
37. "Kochi Times Most Desirable Woman 2018". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
38. "Kochi Times 30 Most Desirable Woman 2019". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
39. "Meet Kochi Times 30 Most Desirable Woman 2020". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
40. "Samyuktha drops her surname 'Menon' for 'equality' and 'humanity'". The Times of India. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
41. "Meet Malayalam Beauty Samyuktha Menon, The 'Golden Leg' Of Tollywood". News18 India. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
42. "Popcorn's comic trailer with Kinder and Joyee". Retrieved 27 September 2017.
43. "Theevandi movie review: This Tovino Thomas film is a feature-length statutory warning". 7 September 2018.
44. J. Hurtado (9 April 2018). "The Teaser For Indian Thriller Lilli Will Get You Tense AF". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
45. "Kalari Movie Review {2/5}: Critic Review of Kalari by Times of India". The Times of India.
46. "July Kaatril, is a film on relationships with a difference". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
47. "ദുല്‍ഖര്‍ 'തുടങ്ങിയിടത്ത്തി' രിച്ചെത്തി; 'യമണ്ടന്‍' പ്രേമകഥയുമായി കൊച്ചിയില്‍..." 7 July 2018.
48. M. K., Surendhar (10 May 2019). "Raghava Lawrence's Kanchana 3 pulls in Rs 70 cr in Tamil Nadu; Uyare earns Rs 9.4 cr worldwide in 10 days". Firstpost. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
49. "Samyuktha Menon's 'Kalki' character revealed". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
50. "Tovino and Samyuktha to star in Edakkad Battalion 06". News New Indian Express. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
51. "അരവിന്ദസ്വാമിയെയും മധുബാലയെയും ഓര്‍മ്മിപ്പിച്ച് ടൊവിനോയും സംയുക്തയും, എടക്കാട് ബറ്റാലിയനിലെ ഗാനം" [Tovino and Samyuktha reminding of Aravinda Swamy and Madhubala, the song from Edakkad Battalion]. News Mathrubhumi. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
52. Praveen, S. r (3 November 2019). "'Underworld' movie review: A rather flat take on the world of crime". The Hindu.
53. "പകർന്നാട്ടത്തിൽ വീണ്ടും പത്തരമാറ്റായി ജയസൂര്യ." Mathrubhmi. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
54. "WATCH: Eerie trailer of Rajeev Ravi's Malayalam anthology film 'Aanum Pennum' out". The New Indian Express. 21 March 2021.
55. "Wolf is a single location thriller". 13 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
56. "The latest poster of 'Erida' featuring Samyuktha Menon goes viral". The Times of India. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
57. "Samyuktha Menon replaces Aishwarya Rajesh in 'Bheemla Nayak'". Telangana Today. 3 October 2021.
58. "Khaki-clad Pawan Kalyan resumes shoot for Ayyappanum Koshiyum's Telugu remake". Hindustan Times. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
59. "Confirmed! Vivek Oberoi and Samyuktha Menon are part of 'Kaduva' cast". The Times of India. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
60. Bhonsale, Divya (6 August 2022). "Box Office Report: 'Sita Ramam', Bimbisara dominate the Friday collections". Asianet News Network. The film is receiving a positive response from critics and fans alike.
61. "Samyuktha Menon makes her Kannada debut alongside Golden Star Ganesh". The Times of India. 5 February 2020.
62. "Gaalipata 2 team wraps up shooting". The Times of India. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
63. "Dhanush's Vaathi goes on floors with a puja, shoot to begin on January 5. See pics". India Today. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
64. "Dhanush starrer Telugu-Tamil bilingual Sir to release in December". Bollywood Hungama. 19 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
65. "Samyuktha starrer 'Boomerang' gets a release date". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
66. "Samyuktha Menon's Dispute With Virupaksha Team Genuine or a Promotional Tactic?". News18. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
67. "Samyuktha Menon replaces Yukti Thareja in Devil". Cinema Express. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
68. "Kajol, Prabhu Deva unveil title of action thriller Maharagni, check out intriguing teaser". The Indian Express. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
69. "Nikhil Siddhartha's 'Swayambhu' shoot begins, actor shares first-look poster". India Today. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
70. "Samyukhta Menon joins Trisha as the second female lead in Mohanlal, Jeethu Joseph's Ram". OTT Play.
71. "Sharwanand's '#Sharwa37' makers unveil Samyuktha as Dia on her birthday". The Times of India. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
72. "Samyuktha's character poster from BSS 12 out". Cinema Express. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
73. "Samyuktha to headline a thriller; Rana Daggubati launches the film". The Hindu. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
74. "Kerala Film Critics Awards announced". The New Indian Express. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
75. "SIIMA Awards 2023: RRR, 777 Charlie win big; Jr NTR, Yash named Best Actors; Sreeleela and Srinidhi Shetty are Best Actresses". The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
76. "SIIMA 2024: 'Dasara', 'Jailer', 'Kantara', '2018' lead the nominations - Check out the details inside". Outlook India. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
77. "22వ సంతోషం సౌత్ ఇండియన్ ఫిల్మ్ అవార్డ్స్.. ఈసారి ఘనంగా గోవాలో." 10TV Telugu (in Telugu). 8 November 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.

External links

• Samyuktha on Instagram
• Samyuktha at IMDb